2,225 research outputs found
Creation and evolution of magnetic helicity
Projecting a non-Abelian SU(2) vacuum gauge field - a pure gauge constructed
from the group element U - onto a fixed (electromagnetic) direction in isospace
gives rise to a nontrivial magnetic field, with nonvanishing magnetic helicity,
which coincides with the winding number of U. Although the helicity is not
conserved under Maxwell (vacuum) evolution, it retains one-half its initial
value at infinite time.Comment: Clarifying remarks and references added; 12 pages, 1 figure using
BoxedEPSF, REVTeX macros; submitted to Phys Rev D; email to
[email protected]
Gauge vortex dynamics at finite mass of bosonic fields
The simple derivation of the string equation of motion adopted in the
nonrelativistic case is presented, paying the special attention to the effects
of finite masses of bosonic fields of an Abelian Higgs model. The role of the
finite mass effects in the evaluation of various topological characteristics of
the closed strings is discussed. The rate of the dissipationless helicity
change is calculated. It is demonstrated how the conservation of the sum of the
twisting and writhing numbers of the string is recovered despite the changing
helicity.Comment: considerably revised to include errata to journal versio
A pandemic lesson for global lung diseases: exacerbations are preventable.
A dramatic global reduction in the incidence of common seasonal respiratory viral infections has resulted from measures to limit the transmission of SARS2-Cov-19 during the pandemic . This has been accompanied by falls reaching 50% internationally in the incidence of acute exacerbations of pre-existing chronic respiratory diseases that include asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Cystic Fibrosis (CF). At the same time, the incidence of acute bacterial pneumonia and sepsis has fallen steeply world-wide. Such findings demonstrate the profound impact of common respiratory viruses on the course of these global illnesses. Reduced transmission of common respiratory bacterial pathogens and their interactions with viruses appear also as central factors. This review summarises pandemic changes in exacerbation rates of asthma, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and pneumonia. We draw attention to the substantial body of knowledge about respiratory virus infections in these conditions, and that it has not yet translated into clinical practice. Now the large-scale of benefits that could be gained by managing these pathogens is unmistakable, we suggest the field merits substantial academic and industrial investment. We consider how pandemic-inspired measures for prevention and treatment of common infections should become a cornerstone for managing respiratory diseases. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Measurement Of Quasiparticle Transport In Aluminum Films Using Tungsten Transition-Edge Sensors
We report new experimental studies to understand the physics of phonon
sensors which utilize quasiparticle diffusion in thin aluminum films into
tungsten transition-edge-sensors (TESs) operated at 35 mK. We show that basic
TES physics and a simple physical model of the overlap region between the W and
Al films in our devices enables us to accurately reproduce the experimentally
observed pulse shapes from x-rays absorbed in the Al films. We further estimate
quasiparticle loss in Al films using a simple diffusion equation approach.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, PRA
Design, Material Properties and Structural Performance of Sustainable Concrete
Green concretes, also termed eco-concretes, with reduced cement content may provide an alternative for improving concrete sustainability independently of used supplementary cementitious materials. However, to evaluate the sustainability of these new types of concretes not only the ecological impact due to the composition may be regarded but in particular also their technical performance, i.e. their mechanical, physical and chemical properties, have to be taken into consideration. Consequently, this paper introduces first the index Building Material Sustainability Potential, which is applied in combination with the service life prediction for cement-reduced concretes using probabilistic methods. Moreover, the composition of green concretes is indicated, and related test results on the performance of green concretes are presented. The potential of green concrete for applications in practice is shown by the structural performance of graded concrete members being loaded in flexural tests
Analytical theory of forced rotating sheared turbulence: The perpendicular case
Rotation and shear flows are ubiquitous features of many astrophysical and geophysical bodies. To understand their origin and effect on turbulent transport in these systems, we consider a forced turbulence and investigate the combined effect of rotation and shear flow on the turbulence properties. Specifically, we study how rotation and flow shear influence the generation of shear flow (e.g., the direction of energy cascade), turbulence level, transport of particles and momentum, and the anisotropy in these quantities. In all the cases considered, turbulence amplitude is always quenched due to strong shear (ξ=νky2/A⪡1, where A is the shearing rate, ν is the molecular viscosity, and ky is a characteristic wave number of small-scale turbulence), with stronger reduction in the direction of the shear than those in the perpendicular directions. Specifically, in the large rotation limit (Ω⪢A), they scale as A−1 and A−1|ln ξ|, respectively, while in the weak rotation limit (Ω⪡A), they scale as A−1 and A−2/3, respectively. Thus, flow shear always leads to weak turbulence with an effectively stronger turbulence in the plane perpendicular to shear than in the shear direction, regardless of rotation rate. The anisotropy in turbulence amplitude is, however, weaker by a factor of ξ1/3|ln ξ| (∝A−1/3|ln ξ|) in the rapid rotation limit (Ω⪢A) than that in the weak rotation limit (Ω⪡A) since rotation favors almost-isotropic turbulence. Compared to turbulence amplitude, particle transport is found to crucially depend on whether rotation is stronger or weaker than flow shear. When rotation is stronger than flow shear (Ω⪢A), the transport is inhibited by inertial waves, being quenched inversely proportional to the rotation rate (i.e., ∝Ω−1) while in the opposite case, it is reduced by shearing as A−1. Furthermore, the anisotropy is found to be very weak in the strong rotation limit (by a factor of 2) while significant in the strong shear limit. The turbulent viscosity is found to be negative with inverse cascade of energy as long as rotation is sufficiently strong compared to flow shear (Ω⪢A) while positive in the opposite limit of weak rotation (Ω⪡A). Even if the eddy viscosity is negative for strong rotation (Ω⪢A), flow shear, which transfers energy to small scales, has an interesting effect by slowing down the rate of inverse cascade with the value of negative eddy viscosity decreasing as |νT|∝A−2 for strong shear. Furthermore, the interaction between the shear and the rotation is shown to give rise to a nondiffusive flux of angular momentum (Λ effect), even in the absence of external sources of anisotropy. This effect provides a mechanism for the existence of shearing structures in astrophysical and geophysical systems
Magnetic Energy and Helicity Budgets in the Active-Region Solar Corona. I. Linear Force-Free Approximation
We self-consistently derive the magnetic energy and relative magnetic
helicity budgets of a three-dimensional linear force-free magnetic structure
rooted in a lower boundary plane. For the potential magnetic energy we derive a
general expression that gives results practically equivalent to those of the
magnetic Virial theorem. All magnetic energy and helicity budgets are
formulated in terms of surface integrals applied to the lower boundary, thus
avoiding computationally intensive three-dimensional magnetic field
extrapolations. We analytically and numerically connect our derivations with
classical expressions for the magnetic energy and helicity, thus presenting a
so-far lacking unified treatment of the energy/helicity budgets in the
constant-alpha approximation. Applying our derivations to photospheric vector
magnetograms of an eruptive and a noneruptive solar active regions, we find
that the most profound quantitative difference between these regions lies in
the estimated free magnetic energy and relative magnetic helicity budgets. If
this result is verified with a large number of active regions, it will advance
our understanding of solar eruptive phenomena. We also find that the
constant-alpha approximation gives rise to large uncertainties in the
calculation of the free magnetic energy and the relative magnetic helicity.
Therefore, care must be exercised when this approximation is applied to
photospheric magnetic field observations. Despite its shortcomings, the
constant-alpha approximation is adopted here because this study will form the
basis of a comprehensive nonlinear force-free description of the energetics and
helicity in the active-region solar corona, which is our ultimate objective.Comment: 44 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. The Astrophysical Journal, in pres
Large-Scale Magnetic-Field Generation by Randomly Forced Shearing Waves
A rigorous theory for the generation of a large-scale magnetic field by
random non-helically forced motions of a conducting fluid combined with a
linear shear is presented in the analytically tractable limit of low Rm and
weak shear. The dynamo is kinematic and due to fluctuations in the net
(volume-averaged) electromotive force. This is a minimal proof-of-concept
quasilinear calculation aiming to put the shear dynamo, a new effect recently
found in numerical experiments, on a firm theoretical footing. Numerically
observed scalings of the wavenumber and growth rate of the fastest growing
mode, previously not understood, are derived analytically. The simplicity of
the model suggests that shear dynamo action may be a generic property of
sheared magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.Comment: Paper substantially rewritten, results changed (relative to v1).
Revised versio
A numerical model of the VKS experiment
We present numerical simulations of the magnetic field generated by the flow
of liquid sodium driven by two counter-rotating impellers (VKS experiment).
Using a dynamo kinematic code in cylindrical geometry, it is shown that
different magnetic modes can be generated depending on the flow configuration.
While the time averaged axisymmetric mean flow generates an equatorial dipole,
our simulations show that an axial field of either dipolar or quadrupolar
symmetry can be generated by taking into account non-axisymmetric components of
the flow. Moreover, we show that by breaking a symmetry of the flow, the
magnetic field becomes oscillatory. This leads to reversals of the axial dipole
polarity, involving a competition with the quadrupolar component.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
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